and what they hope to remember most about these intense early years of parenting.

Plus, we talk about the inception of Joe’s brand new middle grade novel series, A BABYSITTER’S GUIDE TO MONSTER HUNTING (published by fancy pants Harper Collins), the first of which will be released this June. Expect to see it in theaters as well, as Montecito Picture Company and Walden Films are producing Ballarini’s film adaptation.

I’m so proud to report that it has fantastically written, funny, and super empowered female leads (#girlpower!), and I cannot wait for Sabrina to be old enough to read it.

Here’s an #atomicmoms parenting question to chew over: would you feel comfortable leaving your child sleeping in a hotel room if you stayed on the premises and had a monitor? Share on instagram (@atomicmoms) and our “Atomic Moms” Facebook page.

And support the pod by clicking on this link to check out the coolest MOM BED you’ve ever seen:

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Joe is a writer on the feature film MY LITTLE PONY: The Movie for Hasbro Studios. He is writing SKYWARD, the true story of two families who escaped East Germany in a hot air balloon for 20th Century Fox with Karen Rosenfelt producing. Michael Keaton is starring in his screenplay IMAGINE AGENTS for 20th Century Fox, produced by SPOTLIGHT’S Michael Sugar. Joe has been hired to adapt the novel, CHARLIE PARIS, for Fox 2000 with Walt Becker directing. He also adapted the graphic novel CARDBOARD for Blue Sky Animation which will be directed by Chris Wedge. Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Entertainment and Lionsgate released Ballarini’s horror comedy DANCE OF THE DEAD, which Joe wrote and directed second unit. New Line Cinema commissioned Ballarini to write the epic MERLIN TRILOGY with Offspring Entertainment producing. Walden Media hired Ballarini to write ATLANTIS with Shawn Levy producing and Dean Parisot directing. Michael Bay and Benderspink are producing his found-footage horror spec, LOCKDOWN AT FRANKLIN HIGH, which Ballarini wrote and sold to Sony Pictures with Federico D’Allessandro directing. Ballarini wrote and directed episodes of THE ROPES for Netflix which Vin Diesel produced. New Regency commissioned Ballarini to write the biblical epic, THE NATIVITY.

Ballarini wrote for 20th Century Fox Animation’s ICE AGE 4 and EPIC. He also wrote TURBO for Dreamworks Animation. MODERN FAMILY’S Eric Stonestreet starred in Ballarini’s feature directorial debut FATHER VS SON, produced by Huffington Post co-founder, Michael Huffington. Jerry Bruckheimer purchased Ballarini’s original spec THE RESIDENCE about a paranormalist hired to investigate a haunting in the White House. Ballarini adapted the science-fiction graphic novel MAINTENANCE for McG to direct and Warner Brothers. Miramax purchased Ballarini’s original spy thriller SPY NEXT DOOR. Joe is also left-handed.